A physical keyboard can be an essential input device for entering text, navigating, performing actions, and more.
On a Mac, some people prefer using a keyboard instead of a mouse or a trackpad, and VoiceOver users require it. People can also connect an external keyboard to their iPhone, iPad, or TV.
When a physical keyboard is available, people often rely on keyboard shortcuts, which offer efficient ways to initiate actions without using a mouse or trackpad to navigate a menu or click a button.
Support keyboard-only interaction where possible. As the name suggests, full keyboard-access mode lets people navigate and activate windows, menus, controls, and system features using only the keyboard. To learn more, see Navigate your app using Full Keyboard Access and Adjust the onscreen and external keyboard settings on iPad. In iPadOS, you can enhance the experience of using a connected keyboard with your app by customizing visual effects that help people focus on individual items as they navigate your interface. For guidance, see Keyboard navigation on iPad.
Most keyboard shortcuts consist of a combination of keys: a single primary key and one or more of the modifier keys (Command, Shift, Control, and Option). A rare exception is the Esc (Escape) key, which people can use as a shortcut to invoke a cancel action in various contexts.
People discover keyboard shortcuts in a couple of ways. For example, a macOS app lists its keyboard shortcuts in its menu bar menus (to learn more, see The menu bar).
The keyboard shortcuts in an iPadOS app appear in the shortcut interface that displays when people hold the Command key on a connected keyboard. Similar in organization to an app’s menu bar menus on a Mac, the shortcut interface on iPad displays app commands in familiar system-defined menu categories such as File, Edit, and View. Unlike menu bar menus, the iPad interface displays all relevant categories in one view, listing within each category only available commands that also have shortcuts.
